09 May 2022
The Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) is a government authority in the Kingdom of Bahrain with a corporate identity. It is governed by the board of directors presided by the Minister of Labor. The Labor Market Regulatory Authority was set up on May 31, 2006, to govern and supervise work permits for expatriate workers and self-employed workers in Bahrain as well as issue licenses for the workforce and the recruiting agencies within the Kingdom of Bahrain. Companies are charged a fee for a foreign work permit and a monthly tax on each foreign worker they employ. The foreign work permit fees and the monthly tax on each foreign worker in 2012 were BD200 and BD10. At the end of the second quarter of 2018, there were 600,857 foreign workers in Bahrain, up from 158,814 Bahrainis. The Bahrain Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), in collaboration with Citizenship, Passports, and Residency Matters, has intensified inspection campaigns intending to prevent any illegal practices that could adversely affect the labour market in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Inspection campaigns mainly target expatriate employees who are working illegally and without any proper documents within the Kingdom. This has resulted in the arrest and expulsion of several workers who violate the law and are served with penalties stipulated under Law Number 19 of 2006 in connection with the Regulation of the Labor Market (as amended). The Labor Market Regulatory Authority will continue to coordinate with its constituent authorities in the Kingdom to check commercial registers to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of the LMRA nationwide.
As an employer what you should do?
Employers recruiting expatriate workers in Bahrain must make sure that they meet all necessary steps to validate the sponsorship and service of their workers, including:
- Make sure that their institution is registered under the Labor Market Regulatory Authority,
- Validate that the employees they hired are legally permitted to work within the Kingdom of Bahrain, and also
- Make sure that all sponsored expatriate employees possess valid residence visas and work permits.
According to the Labor Market Regulatory Authority Law and in addition to the above, employers should be careful not to assign their sponsored employees to a third party or second their employees to another employer, unless the related employees meet the statutory requirements for such legal transfer to another employer.
Consequences for non-compliance
If a company employing foreign workers does not comply with the law of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority, the LMRA may impose the following penalties:
- The penalty of 1,000 BHD to 4,000 BHD for the violating institution,
- Suspension of commercial registration (CR) of the breaching institution for a period of between six months and one year,
- Imprisonment of offenders for a period of between three months and one year, and
- Deportation of violating employees.
To know more about the LMRA inspection protocols, one could directly contact to professional in this field. Especially ones who are well-update about its legal formalities.